


What Dreams May Come

by onecoolcam



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: EvilRegal, Gen, regalbeliever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 19:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4191978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onecoolcam/pseuds/onecoolcam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina cannot stand to live without her son now that she's back in the Enchanted Forest; she takes the sleeping curse to spare her agony... and in New York City, a memory-less Henry Mills wakes with a nightmare about the Evil Queen.  Will he remember and save her?  Can he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

 

_Author's Note: Of course, I don't own OUAT. :)_

 

 ** _The Enchanted Forest_ **   
**_One Year Ago_ **

 

“That doesn't mean you won't find a new reason.  We all get a second chance, Regina.  You just have to open your eyes to see it.”

“It's too bad mine will be closed,” Regina replied, dismissive of his attempts at giving her hope.  

She knew what Robin Hood - as a stranger to her - did not understand: she had no desire to endure another sunrise, not without Henry in her life.  It killed her, bit by bit, to know he was out there, somewhere, and had no memory that she had ever existed.  No one seemed to understand that, even though the idiot Snow had tried to empathize with her by pointing out that she’d lost Emma and Henry.  No, Snow didn’t comprehend her pain at all, because she just carried on as if it was nothing to lose them.

“So, that's it? You just want to give up?” he pressed.

“This isn't an end.  It's an eternal middle.  This curse can be broken by the only true love in my life… And the only reason I would even want to wake: my son.”

Regina knew the odds of Henry somehow reaching her in the Enchanted Forest was beyond a long shot.  The likelihood of that was impossible since he no longer knew she existed.  And, with that going against her, a forever sleep was vastly preferable to a life without him and enduring the company of her former enemies.

“Regina, listen to me.  This is a mistake.”

“Don't worry.  I'll keep my word.  I'll lower the protection spell so that Snow and Charming can be victorious.”  She widened her eyes in exaggeration of their heroism.  Then, her expression sombered.  “But then then I go to sleep.”

Leaving Robin Hood where he stood, feet glued to the floor, Regina left her chambers with the curse-tainted hairpin between her fingers.  She made her way toward the grand audience chamber with heavy, if graceful steps, brown eyes fixed on the source of the shield that protected the castle from outsiders.  The spell emanated with green energy.  Regina noticed that, recognized that she did not know a practitioner whose magic made such a huge, and found that she did not care.  That would be Snow and David’s problem.

Gesturing with her free hand and expending her own magic into the vessel, Regina neutralized the magical shield.  Elsewhere, she knew the heroes would send their rag-tag army charging in to seize the castle.  Their castle, she thought.

Regina sat down on a bench, down a few steps from the dais.  She contemplated the hairpin and, without a moment’s pause, pricked her middle finger.  The pain was momentary as her body went slack.  As the queen slumped down on the carved marble seat, her final thought was of her son, her prince, and Regina hoped that he was safe and happy… wherever he was.

 

 _**New York City** _  
_**One Year Ago** _

 

Henry’s breath caught in his throat as he sat up.  Heart pounding, he tried to recall the nightmare that had woken him so suddenly.  He frowned, unable to recall a single detail other than the sight of the Evil Queen from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.  He ran a hand through disheveled hair, dumbfounded.  He had not seen the animated movie since he was a child, and while it was a Disney classic, it wasn’t his favorite.  

Still, the image of the queen as her regal self, before she’d turned into the hag, clung at the edge of his mind.  Climbing out of bed, Henry made his way to the living room.  He stood barefoot and in pajamas as he surveyed their DVD collection, found the movie in question and held onto the case contemplatively.  Henry shrugged and sighed.  He hadn’t known what he expected to happen by picking it from the media shelf.  Looking at the image of the Evil Queen on the cover prompted no further memories of his nightmare to come back.  He replaced it on the shelf.

“I’m done with orange soda and chocolate bars after 9 pm,” he vowed to himself in a whisper.

And with that, Regina’s prince went back to bed.  By morning, he’d forgotten his nightmare or his inquiry to study the DVD case.

  


_**The Enchanted Forest** _   
_**One Year Ago**_

 

“I tried to stop her, m'lady!” Robin explained to Snow, sounding frantic.  “She wouldn’t listen to me, no matter how I insisted that a new happy--”

Snow shot him a withering look and the thief fell silent.  “You said that.  We all tried to tell Regina that, I’m afraid.  She was so heartbroken at losing Henry…”

“He hopes that she’ll come to awaken her someday,” Robin went on.  “But, her son is in this land called Storybrooke, is it?”

“We know.”  Even Charming sounded weary with Robin’s persistent need to talk.  He sighed.  “Regina made it clear, however, that there was no way to get back there, and Henry nor Emma remember us.”

They had moved Regina to her suite within the castle and had delicately laid her out on the bed.  He and Robin stood on one side while Snow stood opposite them, holding the queen’s hand.

“Oh Regina…” she whispered sadly.  “After everything, to end things like this…”

Snow shook her head and gently let go of her hand, setting it on the bed.  Clearing her throat, she looked at David.  Sadness was clear on her fair features, but there was also the determination and optimism that was a persistent part of her character.

“We have to learn why the Wicked Witch had taken the castle and what she wants with us.  I feel as though the flying monkeys were targeting Regina specifically.  We should have guards protecting her while she can’t protect herself.”

David nodded.  “The dwarves won’t like that, but--”

“I volunteer,” Robin offered, cutting him off.

Snow tilted her head as she gazed at the thief, eyes narrowing.  “Thank you, but the dwarves will come around.  They know the cost Regina paid to get us back here safely.”

Robin nodded his head.  “Very well.  If my services are not needed, I’ll gather my Merry Men and we’ll be on our way, m’lady.”

“Do you need provisions?” David asked.

“We’ll just fill our water skins and that will do,” he replied.

Snow looked back at Regina and touched her hand.  She sighed heavily and led her husband and Robin out of her chamber. Grumpy waited in the hallway, looking uncomfortable.  He nodded to her and David.  Robin brushed past them all, and his brusque actions caught the dwarf’s attention; he frowned after him, then gave the Charmings a questioning look.

“I don’t trust him,” Snow whispered, looking troubled.

“I don’t either.”

Grumpy looked at them both and offered a shrug.  “Want us to put a tail on him?  I’m sure the fairies would help and could be pretty sly about it.”

“Yes.  Let’s,” Snow said decisively.  “I just have a bad feeling… and, while we’re at it, I want Regina guarded.  She’s defenseless and - no matter our past differences and how upset I am with her for doing this - I don’t want any harm to come to her.”

To their surprise, Grumpy took that in stride.  “I’ll see to it personally, your majesty.  Just as soon as we get a tail on the thief.”

“Good.  Anything else?” David asked.

“Most of townspeople of Storybrooke are settling back in.  The area around the castle was pretty well deserted because of the first curse,” he reported, “so they are going back home and figuring things out.”

The prince smiled at Snow, glad to hear that everyone was taking this seemingly well.  Everyone but Regina, anyway.  She offered a thin smile back.

“Alright, good.  Let’s take stock of the kingdom, our needs, and re-establish ties with our neighbors,” Snow commanded, slipping into the role of a princess and leader as if she’d always held that position.  “Then, we’ll see what we can learn about the Wicked Witch and her plans.”

“On it,” Grumpy replied.  He nodded at them and lugged his way back up the hallway.

Snow sighed and leaned into his husband’s side.  David slid an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tight.  

“We can do this,” he said confidently.

“Oh, I know we can.  This is just already more difficult than I imagined our homecoming being,” Snow whispered.  

To that, David could only nod.  He glanced back toward Regina’s suite, sighed, then led Snow through the castle.  There was so much to be done to rebuild their lives...

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

##  Chapter 2

Author’s Note:  Thanks for the favorite/follows!  :)  It’s exciting to see a stray plot bunny come to life, so I’m glad you’re enjoying it too.  And of course, I don’t own OUAT!

 

  

_New York City_

_Six Months Ago_

 

 

            “Mom?”

Emma crooked an eyebrow at her son, hearing volumes in his tone with just that one simple word.  She paused the video game they were immersed in, giving him her full attention. 

“Yeah, Kid.  What’s up?” 

            Henry frowned and looked out the window at the city.  “Was I scared of any movies when I was a kid?  Like… Disney movies?”  
            _Okay,_ _definitely not what I thought he was going to say…_ she thought.  _Thought this was going to be the ‘I don’t like Walsh’ moment..._

            Emma gazed at him, trying to recall.  She shook her head.  “No, not that I remember.  Why?”

            He sighed and glanced at her, brows furrowed.  “I keep having weird dreams… nightmares, even, about a Disney movie.  Or, a character, really.  I can’t figure it out.”

            “Well, if it was _Treasure Planet_ , I totally get it.  That was kinda a failure on their part,” Emma said with a charming smile.

            Henry smiled faintly, then shook his head.  “No… it’s the Evil Queen in _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_.  Weird, right?  I _keep_ dreaming about her.”

            Emma paused and her smile faded too as if that made sense for a split second.  But, she shrugged as the moment passed.  “Well, she does get pretty creepy when she’s a hag.  Maybe looks a little too much like your homeroom teacher last year?”

            Henry smirked because there was a definite resemblance!  Then, he shook his head again.  “Maybe… but I don’t think that’s it.  I dunno.  I can’t shake the dreams or how weird they make me feel afterward.”

            “Have you even watched that movie lately?” Emma asked.

            “Nope.  I’ve had the dreams, pretty regular, for awhile… like, a few months.  But, I haven’t seen the movie in years.  Why do I keep dreaming about the Evil Queen of all people?” he asked, his tone clear that he needed his mother’s help to figure this out.

            “No idea, Kid.  All I can think of is Mrs. Treacher because she looked like her--”

            “But in the dream, it’s the queen when she’s still beautiful.  Or, you know, not a hag,” Henry interrupted impatiently. 

            Emma shifted her shoulders.  “I don’t know, Henry.  Next time it happens, if it wakes you,  wake _me_ up and we’ll try to figure it out in the moment.”

            He nodded.  “Okay.  That’s a good plan.  Yeah, I’ll do that.  Thanks, Mom.”

            “You bet.”  Her gaze lingered on her son a few moments longer, looking pensive. 

            Then, Emma shifted her attention back to the video game.  A tap of her thumb and it was live again.  They were back to destroying evildoers as knight and mage.

 

           

_Enchanted Forest_

_Six Months Ago_

           

            Charming looked at their council of war, settled around the round table: Granny and Ruby, the Grumpy and Doc, Blue, Jiminy and Gepetto, Aurora and Phillip.  It almost felt like deja vu except for the latter who had not been involved when they’d defeat Regina.  Snow nodded grimly at him, her cue that he should do the talking for now. 

            He cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention.  “Thank you all for coming on such short notice.  I know it’s not easy as frequent as the flying monkey attacks have been.”

            “No kidding it’s not!” Grumpy groused.  “It’s like there’s more of them every day!”

            “There are,” Ruby said softly.  “Their _stink_ is overwhelming.”

            Granny offered her a commiserating nod and patted her hand.  She was thankful that her sense of smell was not as strong anymore, though she felt for her granddaughter’s plight.

            “I’m sure,” David said grimly.  “That being said, has anyone learned anything that helps us to understand _what_ the witch wants?”

            Phillip and Aurora exchanged glances, then looked down at the ornate round table.  Snow noticed that and stared pointedly at the princess. 

            “If you know something, Aurora, you need to tell us,” she said.  “We’ve survived too much together to hold out now, because--”

            “Alright, _alright_!” the younger woman cried.  Shaking her head vigorously, Aurora looked pale and afraid.  “She wants your _baby!_   The witch - Zelena - she came to us after you’d left this land last time.  She threatened us - and our baby - for information about you.  Zelena knew you had a child coming, even then.”

            “But--”

            “Don’t question how she knew.  She wields powerful magic,” she continued.  “That’s what matters.  And she wants your baby, we think, to make herself even more powerful.”

            “Or, she has something planned that requires your child.”

            Snow slumped back in her chair as David stared at them.  His tone was harsh.  “You’ve known _all this time_ and haven’t said anything until _now?_ ”

            Phillip jumped up from his chair, staring David down.  “We had to think of our child too!  I’m sorry, but we were scared!  We’ve already endured life with Zelena and her monkeys ruling the kingdom and knew what she was capable of!”

            The others reacted to Phillip’s movement, either leaping back themselves or inching off their seats as if ready to pounce him.  They waited, however, for Charming’s orders and reaction.

            “And have you carried information back to Zelena, whom you fear?” Snow asked, frowning darkly.

            “Snow!” Aurora exclaimed, offended.

            “Of course we haven’t.  We--”

            Just then, there was a flash of greenish light and both Aurora and Phillip froze in place.  Everyone gasped and leaped from their chairs and found themselves immobilized too.  The only refugees who could still move were Snow and Charming.  Zelena swooped in on her broom, cackling as she slid off and faced them all.

            “Aren’t you all so stiff and at attention!  How lovely!” she crooned.

            “Let them free!” Charming shouted, drawing his sword.

            A flick of the wrist found David frozen too.  She stalked toward Snow, smirking.  “My, my, you are positively _glowing_ , aren’t you?”

            Snow backed away from her, nearly knocked the dwarves down as she slid between Grumpy and Doc.  Zelena continued to stalk her, waiting until Snow had to move beyond the natural barrier the dwarves provided.

            “Get out of here!  I warn you!”  Snow growled.

            “You warn me?  You warn _me_?  Oh, my pretty… you don’t understand.”  Zelena laughed, and with a poof of magic turned Phillip and Aurora into flying monkeys.  They screeched and flew away..  “My pets warned _you_ what is to come and now they’ve paid the price.  I _will_ have your baby when the time is right.  I’ve already taken my sister.”

            Snow looked confused.  “Your sister?  Who in the world is your sister?”

            “Why Regina, of course!” she chuckled.  “You didn’t know?  Did _she_?  I daresay she did not… knowing our mother.”

            Snow went wide-eyed.  “You and Regina are _sisters?_ ”

            “Yes, we are, but I’m concerned that you are focused on that rather than the fact that I _stole her_ from her bed where you were foolishly protecting her corpse!” Zelena crowed.

            “Regina’s not dead.  Just under… a… sleeping curse.”

            “Not dead yet, you mean.”

            “ _No!_   I won’t let you hurt her!” Snow exclaimed.

            Zelena rolled bright blue eyes and shook her head. Snow found herself immobilized as the witch walked away from her.  She appraised the frozen heroes, looking so determined behind her magic.  Zelena clicked her tongue against her teeth.

            “Farewell, my dears.  I will see you soon.”  She looked at Snow.  “Especially you.”

            Sliding onto her broom with another maniacal laugh, the Wicked Witch flew off.  Several seconds later, the magic holding Snow, David, and the others dissipated.  They stumbled and caught their footing, looking bewildered.

            “Regina.  We have to check on Regina,” Snow breathed. 

            Ruby was a step ahead of her and David brought up the rear as the trio raced out of the chambers and through the castle.  Snow cried out in horror at finding Regina’s bed empty; Zelena had not been joking or bluffing.  She was really gone.

            “What will she do to her?” Snow whimpered, tears in her eyes.

            David and Ruby exchanged glances.  “We’ll find her, Snow.  And rescue her from her… sister.”

 

           

           


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: Again, thank you for reading! And I don’t own OUAT. :)

# Chapter 3

 

_**New York City** _

_**Present Day** _

 

As days turned to months since Henry’s confession of nightmares to his mother, the frequency of them only increased.  He was afraid to sleep because the nature of them had also changed: if not a dream of the Evil Queen, his nightmares began to include a fiery, windowless and doorless room.   If that wasn’t bad enough, a woman with a pixie haircut kept claiming she was Snow White and kept screaming to him to save his mother!

Henry had stopped telling his mother about the nightmares and said they’d stopped when the dreams had taken that turn.  He had no idea who the dark-haired woman in his nightmare was and didn’t want to scare his mom that he was having delusions or paranoia about her!  He also had an irrational fear that his mom would send him to counseling over this.  It was to his friend, Avery, that he decided to talk while on a sleepover.  After all, Avery seemed to know a little bit about everything.

“Hey, Avery…”

“Shh, concentrating, Henry,” the spiky-haired blond said.  His blue-eyed gaze was riveted to the TV screen as they played video games.

“Yeah, okay,” he said.  Henry was patient and waited until Avery had used up his lives and it was his turn to run that particular level.

“Okay, what’s up?” Avery said as he leaned back in his gamer chair and took a drink from his soda.

“What do you know about weird dreams?  Nightmares?” Henry asked.

“Like what?”

“Like… recurring weird nightmares.  Why do we have them?”

“I’m no shrink, man, but I guess they’d say its something in your brain that’s trying to get worked out.  Is it nightmares about Nikole giving you wedgies or something?” Avery asked with a knowing smirk.

“No!” Henry yelped and blushed.  Again, he wished he’d never told his friend about that crush!  “Not Nikole!  They’re… gah, nevermind.  You’ll laugh because it’s so dumb.”

Avery gazed at him a moment, realized Henry was serious and sat up straighter.  “Henry, okay, sorry man.  No jokes.  I won’t laugh.  What kind of nightmares are bothering you?”

Henry frowned and picked at the knee of his jeans where it had frayed.  “They’ve been going on for a long time now.  Used to be every once in awhile, but now they’re… all the time.  It started out being about… ugh, this is so dumb to say out loud.  They were about the evil queen in the Snow White movie from forever ago--”

“The Angelina one?” Avery interrupted.

“No.  That was Malificent.  The cartoon movie.  With the seven dwarves.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”  Henry rolled his eyes.  “Now, I’m having nightmares about this room that’s full of fire and a woman who calls herself Snow White is screaming at me because I have to save my mom.”

He glanced up at Avery, afraid of his friend’s reaction because - out loud - this sounded so lame.  And crazy!  But, Avery had a thoughtful look on his face, taking this more seriously than he would’ve imagined.

“Avery?” he prompted.

“It’s just that… I’ve heard of something like that before.  A burning room.  It was… yeah!  I remember now.  It was like… a year ago, I guess.  Before you moved here.  I overheard this lady on the street talking about a burning room.  She sounded super crazy… but, not that I’m calling you that!”  Avery gave Henry a reassuring look.  “It was just, at the time, that sounded so weird, but if you’re dreaming that too… there has to be something to it.  Maybe a side effect to medicine?  You take anything strong for anything?”

Henry shook his head.  “No… I mean not since I had a real bad fever as a kid.”

Avery pointed at him.  “Well, there you go.  Maybe it’s one of those late-to-show-up side effects.  Maybe you and that lady I overheard both had the fever.  Took the same pills.”

“Could be… never thought of something like that,” Henry admitted.

“Your mom know about these nightmares?” Avery asked behind his can.

“No.  Well, when they first started, I told her.  But not about the burning room.  I didn’t want to freak her out that I was going nuts or anything.”  He shrugged.  “Think I should tell her?”

“Maybe.  If it’s medication-related, you know?” Avery said.  “That or…”

“Or what?” Henry pressed.

This time, it was Avery who looked hesitant to share.  But, then he shrugged.  “The lady was talking about it like it was… magic.”

“Magic?” he repeated, looking puzzled.  “Like the card game?  Or like magic tricks and Criss Angel?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe more like Criss Angel, but she sounded totally serious about it.  Like it was real.”

Henry sighed.  He’d thought they might be onto something as a medication side effect.  Talking about it as something magical sounded crazy.  

“Don’t freak out, Henry.  You know there are psychics and stuff who believe magic is real.  Maybe talking to one would help make sense of the nightmares.”

He stared at Avery as though his friend had grown a second head.  This was far deeper than Henry thought he’d take this.  “Serious?”

“Serious.  I mean, who knows?  Maybe they’d know something that helps you deal with it,” Avery replied.

Henry sighed again.  “Yeah, maybe.  Thanks, Avery.  Just… don’t say anything to my mom.  Or yours, okay?”

He leaned over and punched Henry’s shoulder.  “You got it.  But, now, you’ve gotta drop your sword in the game so I can pick it up on my turn.  Cost of the free advice.”

Henry smirked and rolled his eyes.  “I’ll pick up a better one this round, so that’s a deal.”

  
  


_**Enchanted Forest** _

_**Present Day** _

__****  
  


The feel of David painfully clutching her hand was Snow’s first sensation as she came up from her controlled trip back to the dreadful room where survivors of a sleeping curse went.  

“I’m okay.  I’m okay,” she assured him.

He helped his wife sit up in bed, patting her back gently.  “Did you see him, Snow?”

“Yes.  Henry was there.  Regina thought that all ties back to that land were severed by returning here, but we can reach Henry through the burning room,” Snow said.  “But--”

“--he doesn’t know you,” David said, guessing the direction of her thoughts.

“Oh David, he was so confused.  I could see I was scaring him even worse than the nightmarish setting!” she said with a heavy sigh.  “I tried to tell him who I was, but he didn’t remember me.”

Charming nodded sadly.  He couldn’t imagine what that would be like, to see Henry and not be recognized at all.  He leaned in and kissed his wife’s forehead.

“If you can reach him, you can help him to remember,” he said with the confidence that came with his personality.  “It’s the only way.”

Snow tilted her head.  “I know.  And I’ll do my best, but… oh, David, I could see how frightened he was.  I just wish it didn’t have to be Henry I was scaring like this.”

“I know.  But, I have faith that you can do this.  That we’ll succeed.”

She nodded and touched his cheek.  “I know, Charming…”

  
  


_**New York City** _

_**Present Day** _

 

Henry and Avery stood in front of the psychic shop with hands in their pockets, heavy backpacks on their backs, and a dubious expression.  They’d been there for a few minutes, silently debating if this was worth pursuing.

“I don’t know… this feels silly now,” Henry said finally.

“Yeah.  Well, you don’t have to go in.”

“Maybe I should,” he countered.

Avery shrugged as much as he could with his heavy backpack weighing him down.   “If you want to.  I don’t know, Henry.”

“Me neither.”  

With a sigh, and before he could talk himself out of it again, Henry pushed the door open and stepped inside.  The lights were dimmed, but fake votive candles flickered on nearly every flat surface.  There was a not-unpleasant odor; it was similar to some real candles that Avery’s mom burned, he thought.  He didn’t see any customers, nor any psychics around.  Henry took a moment to study the books and trinkets for sale, getting a sense of what a psychic’s business was like.

“H-hello?” he called out.

A blonde-haired woman with brilliant violet eyes emerged.  “Hello, young man.  How may I help you?”

Henry stared at her in surprise before realizing they had to be contact lenses.  He blushed and averted his gaze, then saw her cleavage and blushed harder, looking away from her altogether.

“I… a friend thought I should come here.  I’m having weird nightmares.  He thought a psychic might have ideas about them, but--”

She smiled and tilted her head at him.  “Your friend was right.  I can help you.”

“You can?” Henry looked back at her, eyes fixed on hers.  

“Why don’t you tell me about your nightmare?”

“Here?” Henry asked, looking confused.

“Why not?  You’re my only customer right now.”  

“Okay.”  

The psychic went to stand behind the counter, and Henry felt more at ease with there being a barrier between them for some reason.  He stood on the opposite side and nodded.  Henry proceeded to explain about his nightmares for the duration that he’d had them.  He forgot all about Avery, who waited out on the sidewalk.  The psychic listened without interruption, her only reaction being to lift her brows or shift her stance as he explained.

“...and so my friend said maybe a pill side-effect or maybe something magical was at work,” he concluded.  “I… don’t know what to think, but here I am.  And that’s all of it.”

She sighed softly.  “These are very intense dreams, and your friend was wise with his suggestions.”

“Can you help me then?” Henry asked.

“I can.  There are many who believe that there are more worlds than just what we experience here,” she said.

He lifted a brow.  “You’re not talking worlds as in planets, right?”

“Smart young man,” the psychic replied with a smile.  “Indeed I am not.  Those who believe other worlds touch ours believe that only a thin membrane - or wall - separates us from other realities.”

“Magic?” he asked.

“Sometimes.   And sometimes, that magic crosses over to a land such as ours, where magic doesn’t exist, even if imagination does.  The thing to understand, my young friend, is that all magic comes with a price.  And so does knowledge, even if it is worth having.  Do you understand?”

Henry swallowed, puzzling through her words.  “Like… how you can’t un-know something?”

She smiled in an elusive, too-knowing way.  It made him nervous.  “Sort of, yes.  Although, you’ll find irony in what you just said if you choose to accept my help.”

“The irony in what?” he asked.

“Un-knowing and knowing.”  She shook her head.  “Don’t worry, my friend.  What matters is that I can help you with the nightmare, but the cost of it may be a game changer for you.  Are you prepared for that?”

Henry stared at her.  “What do you mean?”

“There’s no way for me to explain more clearly than that, I’m afraid.  If I tried… no.  It just wouldn’t help to explain.”

He took a deep breath.  Henry wanted to deal with the nightmares; it was why he’d come.  If the psychic had information that could help with that, he was prepared to do whatever it took… as long as she wasn’t going to try and take all of the money he had on him for it, the whole $25!

“What does this cost?” he asked.

Wizened violet eyes appraised him.  “You need help more than I need to make money.  It’s on the house, Henry.”

Immediately, he took a step back.  “I never said my name.”

Lips curled in a smile.  “Tag on your backpack, my friend.”

“Oh.  Phew.  Right, okay, sorry.  You’ll really help me for free?” Henry asked.

“I will.  Wait here for just a moment.”

He nodded and the psychic disappeared into the back of the shop, the space marked off with a bead door that glittered in the dim light.  Henry went back to looking around the shop curiously.  He tried to imagine what she could have that would help!  He really had no idea, though, and was doubly surprised when she emerged, holding an old-fashioned library card.

“Do you know what this is?”

“A Dewey Decimal card.  My teacher says that’s what people did before Google.  It’s from a library,” Henry said.

“Exactly right,” she said with a bright smile.  “But, you won’t find the book in question at the library.  This is just so you have the exact title and author’s name.  Go to the used book shop, two doors down, and they’ll have the book for you.”

“A book though?”  Henry stared down at the index card.  It read Once Upon a Time, author unknown.  He looked back up at her puzzled, but the psychic was gone.  Henry peeked around the counter and ventured as far as the bead door, peering through.  “Hello…?”

Shaking his head, Henry gripped the weathered index card tightly and let himself out.  Avery was leaning against the building, playing with his phone.  “Hey.”

“Hey.  The psychic have the answers for you?” he asked.

“I’m… not sure.  She gave me this card and said to go to the used book shop,” Henry replied.

“Oh.”  Avery looked puzzled as Henry did by that development.  “Well, we got a couple minutes.  Want to check it out?”

Henry looked up the street and gave a slow nod.  B. G.’s Books had a chalkboard sign on the sidewalk that offered discounts on particular books.  Avery fell in step with him as Henry made his way to the used bookshop.  This time, he even accompanied him inside.

“Hello!  Can I help you?” a bearded, older man asked.

“The psychic sent me,” Henry blurted.  “With this.”

He passed the index card over to the shop keeper, who lifted it up to the light, holding it a good distance away despite the bifocals he wore.  

“A-ha!  I see, young man.  Right this way.”

He led Henry deeper into the shop that was bursting with used books.  There were so many, there wasn’t even adequate shelving space.  Some books were crated in milk cartons and boxes, others simply in stacks in front of the bookcases.  They weaved around the stacks and went down an aisle labeled “rare books.”  Most, Henry noticed, were sheathed in protective coating and he worried that his $25 was not going to be enough.  

“Here we are…”

The shopkeep drew a plastic coated, thick, leather-bound book from the shelf and held it out to Henry.  He stared at the ornate golden lettering that read - as the card said - Once Upon a Time.  

“What is it?” Henry asked.

“Well, I don’t know.  It just popped up here as a resale a few months ago, but I never had time to take a look at it,” he admitted.  “Why don’t you take it home and open it up there?  If the psychic thought it’s what you needed to look at, it is.  That’s all I know.”

“Huh.  That’s kinda weird.  How would she know it’s here?” Henry asked.

“That’s why she’s psychic,” the bearded man said and laughed.

Henry chuckled too and followed him back to the counter where Avery waited.  The shopkeep set the antique looking book down and gave Henry a shrewd look.

“Now, we have to talk price.”

Henry gulped, then nodded.  “Yeah.  How much does a book like this cost?”

“How much are you willing to pay?” he countered.

The teenager half-frowned and admitted,  “I don’t know how to negotiate like this.”

The shopkeeper smiled.  “You’ve an honest heart.  I appreciate that.  Ten dollars?”

Henry blinked and even Avery stared at him in confusion.  “Really?  That’s all?”

The older man offered an easy-going shrug.  “Let’s say that the psychic owes me a favor, and it’s the perfect day to make your day, Henry.”

He hesitated again, then remembered his backpack’s label.  It’s just a day for everyone to notice it.  Weird.  Henry pulled the money out of his wallet, passing two $5 bills over.  

“Ten dollars then.  Okay.  Thank you.”  

“Alright.  Let me find a paper bag for you, then carry it in your backpack for safe-keeping, hmm?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.  Thanks.”  

Henry slid the bag off his shoulders and unfastened it, sliding the strange book in with care.  He couldn’t imagine how it would help him with his nightmares, but he felt like he could trust the psychic and the book shopkeep, somehow.  As he re-latched the backpack, Henry failed to notice that the nametag on his bag was empty; his name was not listed there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation Cobra is on again.

Chapter 4

 

**_New York City_ **

**_Present Day_ **

 

            “Mom?”

            Silence met Henry’s call out as he entered the apartment.  He shrugged to himself, but the quiet made sense once he saw the note his mother had left on the kitchen table:

 

_Hey kid--_

_Meeting Walsh, but we’ll be home by dinnertime.  Be sure to have your homework finished up by then, k?  Love U!_

_\--Mom_

 

            Henry glanced at the wall clock and saw he had about an hour before they came home.  The side trip with Avery to the psychic and the bookshop had taken longer than he realized.  Deciding that if homework had waited this long, it could continue to wait, he grabbed a juice out of the fridge and carried the bottle and his backpack to his room.

            Dropping the heavy backpack on the bed, Henry took a swallow of his juice before setting it on the nightstand.  He sat down on the bed, one leg folded underneath him and removed the mysterious used book from his bag.  He frowned slightly at the golden title, trying to make sense of the afternoon’s happenings.

“Well, one way to find out what this _book_ will do to help me,” he said decisively.

Henry unwrapped the book from its clear plastic protective sheet and held the tome in both hands.  With a shrug, he set it down on the bed and began flipping through its pages.

“Fairytales?   _Really_?” he asked aloud, dubious, and sounding exactly like his mother.  “Well, what else did I expect from a book called _Once Upon a Time_?”

Despite being confused by the contents, he continued to flip through the pages, skimming both familiar and unfamiliar tales.  He was beginning to think that the psychic and the used book seller had been in on a con until he turned to _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_ as the next story.  He flipped through the first few pages of the tale and found it resonant to the Disney film version until an illustration of the Evil Queen took up the entire right side page.

“Gaaaah!” Henry yelped, jumping off the bed in surprise.  

His elbow caught the bottle of juice on the nightstand and sent it careening to the floor, spilling its contents.  He didn’t even notice.  Henry stared hard at the exact image of the queen that had haunted his dreams for months!  It _wasn’t_ the Disney version of her at all that had plagued him but _this_ illustration of her.  Henry shook his head in shock and amazement, trying to understand how this could even be possible.

 _How could the psychic know that book would be at the bookshop?  And how could she know that this was the queen of my haunted dreams?_ he thought.   _What_ is _this?_

He crept to the edge of the bed and reached his hand out, intending to trace his index finger over the beautiful-if-frightening sketch of Snow White’s tormentor.  As his finger touched the ink, Henry cried out.

He saw a flash of bright light and, in a flash, saw a slender, short-haired powersuit version of the Evil Queen--   _Mom!_ \--baking apple fritters and instructing him to do his homework.  Henry felt time and his sense of self slip sideways as the vision continued with an intense barrage of memories and sensations.  The mansion.  Storybrooke!  The docks.  School.  Mary-Margaret Blanchard.  Emma!  

Henry jolted back, gasping and wide-eyed.  

“Mom...?!” he whispered, staring at the illustration of the Evil Queen again.  “I… I remember!”

Dropping back onto the bed, Henry avidly pursued the pages as memories of his life - his _real life_ \- flooded his mind.  With each page, each story, Henry remembered growing up under Regina’s curse, his quest to break it and bring the happy endings back with _Emma’s_ help.  He remembered coming to New York with Mr. Gold, meeting his father--

“I have a dad!” he shouted to his empty room.  “And he _didn’t_ just abandon us!”

\--and being kidnapped by Peter Pan’s goons and taken to Neverland.  His head was spinning as he recalled that week on the island, torn between his belief and Pan’s lies.  They’d come back to Storybrooke only to lose everyone and his memories all over again.

Henry flipped back to the page where his mother - Regina, the Evil Queen - stood before her dark vault in her castle.  Tears flooded his eyes, sad that he’d forgotten she had existed.  She’d made that happen, he remembered, but _still_.  It hurt to know how thoroughly he’d forgotten she had ever existed.

“Oh, man, I have to tell Mom!  We’ve lived a fake life this whole time here!” Henry exclaimed.

He looked to the bedside clock and then saw the mess on the hardwood floor where his bottle had taken the dive.  

“Aw, crap!”

Henry closed the book, jumped up, and ran to the kitchen to get towels to clean up the spill.  Mom and Walsh would be home soon!  As he hurried to clean up the juice, he tried to figure out how to tell his mother the truth about their lives.  

_Will she remember by seeing the book?  By touching it, like I did?_

There would be one way to find out!  He jumped up and tossed the dirty towels into the hamper and tried to plot the best way to handle this with his mom.  But, that led him to a different realization entirely.

Stopping short in the hallway outside his bedroom door, Henry said aloud, “If Mom put a spell on us so that we’d would have new memories because Storybrooke doesn’t exist anymore… why did I start dreaming about her?  Why was my _book_ here in New York?”

Then, he remembered.  With a gasp, Henry fell back against the wall as the _other_ nightmare came back to him, the one of the burning room.  

“Grandma!  She had reached out to me!” Henry exclaimed.  “She needs my help!”

_I just didn’t know it was her because of Mom’s spell!_

That took him back to thinking about his dreams about his adoptive mother.  Henry winced, thinking about how long they’ve gone on.

_What’s happened since they went back to the Enchanted Forest?_

The deadbolt unlocked startling Henry back to the present moment.  He dove for his bedroom and grabbed up the storybook, putting it back in his backpack for safekeeping.  He decided to wait on talking to his mom; this had become an _operation_ and he needed to work on a plan before springing this on her.  After all, Henry already knew how Emma Swan reacted when she had no reason to _believe_.

“Kid!  You home?”

“Coming!” he shouted back.

Henry could hear Walsh chuckle at their way of communicating.  His mother’s boyfriend was far more soft-spoken than the two of them, he thought.  Book safely stashed, he hurried out to the open living room/kitchen.  

“Hey!  I’m starving!” Henry said cheerfully.  “What’s for dinner?”

 

 

 

After pizza down the block from the apartment, they returned home.  Walsh and Emma had retired to the couch to watch TV and Henry used that moment to admit he hadn’t gotten any homework done yet.  He retreated to his room to hit the books, but instead powered up his laptop with other studies in mind.

_Is this Operation Cobra again?  Or does it get a new name?_

He couldn’t decide.  But, Henry was certain of things he needed to know before approaching his mom about the storybook and their lost memories:  did Storybrooke exist?  He went to Google and started searching.  It was a long shot, given how the previous curse had protected the town from the real world.  But, it was a place to start!

Web searches came up empty.  He went to Google Maps and scoured the whole state of Maine, pixel by pixel to see if the town’s location became plain to him.

“Henry… what homework is that?” Walsh asked.

The teen jerked back from the laptop’s screen and stared at him.  “Oh, hey, Walsh.  Didn’t hear you come in…”

Walsh smiled apologetically.  “Yeah, you were pretty focused there…”

“Geography,” Henry replied, not liking the way that Walsh was now studying the map too.  He closed the laptop’s cover, preventing any further looking.  “What’s up?”

Dark eyes glanced around the bedroom before centering back on Henry then.  “Oh, I am headed home for the night.  I just wanted to say good night.”

 _What’s he looking for?  Why’s he being so weird now?  Or am I seeing things?_ Henry wondered.

“Oh.  Okay.  G’night, Walsh.  Thanks again for dinner,” he said politely.

“You bet.  See you later, Henry.”

Walsh lingered a moment longer and Henry lifted a brow, watching him.  Then, the dark-haired man smiled and slipped back out of the room.  Henry rose from his chair and trailed him to the door, creeping down the hallway to eavesdrop as Walsh and his mom talked.

“...so I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner?” Walsh asked hopefully.

“Long as the case I’m on doesn’t run me too late, yep,” she replied.

“Perfect.  Good night, Emma,” Henry heard him say.

There was the definite pause where he knew they were kissing.  Henry hadn’t minded their affections to this point because he was genuinely happy that his mom was happy.  Now, knowing that Walsh was that close to her gave him a weird feeling.  He frowned.

“Night, Walsh.”

The door opened and closed, and Henry hurried back to his bedroom and went back to the laptop.  He reopened the screen and brought up the Khan Academy website that was on his second tab.   After all, he knew his mother; Emma would be coming in to checking on him any moment.  Sure enough, just a few moments after closing the apartment door, she’d made her way to his room.

“Hey, Henry.”

He looked away from the math problem he was pretending to work on.  “Hi, Mom.”

She leaned against the doorframe, smiling.  “Nice night, huh?”

“Yeah.  Pizza was great.  Company was okay too,” Henry teased with a grin.

Emma chuckled.  “Yeah, pizza _was_ good.  How’s the homework coming?”

Henry shrugged.  “Okay.  Mr. Khan sends his regards as usual.”

“You’re just lucky Mr. Khan exists.  Wasn’t anything like that when I was your age,” she said.  

“I know, you’ve told me.  Back in the dark ages, when calculators came with power cords and all that,” he deadpanned.

“Hey!”

“Okay, I’m kidding.  They might have invented batteries by then,” Henry laughed.

“Kid!” Emma chuckled.  “So… tomorrow’s gonna be hectic.  Are you okay with hanging out with Mrs. Cuse tomorrow night?  Walsh wants to take me out.”

Henry nodded and smiled at his mom.  “Sure, that’s okay.”

He gave no indication that he was thinking it would give him time to plot and plan for Operation Cobra 2.  Mrs. Cuse would leave him to his own devices as long as he didn’t push for too much soda or snacks.  

“Thanks, Henry.  Almost done with your math then?”

“Yeah.  Be just another minute,” he replied.  

“Okay, cuz it’s getting late.”

Henry smiled.  “I know.  Almost done.”

She nodded and left him to finish up his homework.  Henry switched back to the map and spent a few more minutes trying to figure out where Storybrooke fit based on the geography he’d known.  Bookmarking the page into one of the many folders in his browser, Henry shut down the laptop for the night.  


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, I don't own OUAT. ;)

 

**_New York City_ **

**_Present Day_ **

 

“Hey, Mom… have you ever been to Maine?  Since you were a baby, I mean.”

Emma made a face and looked over her shoulder from the stove where she was cooking breakfast.  “Seriously, kid?”

"Yeah.  Seriously,” he said, lifting his brows.

She wrinkled her nose and eyed him.  “Why?”

“Just wondered,” Henry replied easily as he put the watering can back in the cupboard.  “Geography class is focusing on the whole Northeast and it got me thinking.”

Emma shook her head.  “No.  After what went down with the foster family in Maine and getting dumped at the orphanage in Mass. when we moved, no, there was no reason at all to go back.”

Henry felt a sting of guilt for bringing up her past, knowing that it would have pained his mother to go back to those memories.  He had only hoped that _something_ would have affected her memories too, now that _he_ remembered Storybrooke, Maine.  That didn’t seem to be the case, however.

“How’s the class going, anyway?” she asked.

Henry shrugged.  “Alright.  I’m passing.”

“Henry....”

“I am!  Not as well as I’m doing in math now, but it’s kind of boring.  Just looking at maps and terrains and stuff,” he said dismissively.

Emma plated the pancakes and carried them over to the table.  “Oh, like your mapping assignment last night?”

Henry poured the juice and nodded, his back to her for the moment.  “Yep.  That assignment was looking at landforms to see how it’s changed by civilization.  Even when, like, a house is no longer on the land.”

“Like the lost island of--”

“Roanoke?  Yeah, kinda like that,” he agreed and sat down for breakfast.  

_We have studied stuff like that.  I’m not lying_ …

“Cool.  It’s always good to be smart with a map.  There was a time before GPS after all,” Emma said with a grin.

“Yeah, it was called the Dark Ages,” he retorted with a smirk, the usual joke.  

“Har har.  Eat up.”

Henry smiled outwardly, glad that his mother thought nothing of the conversation.  He wondered if showing her the book would do anything?  Would handling it do anything, like it had just before she’d broken the curse?

_I’ll try after school,_ he decided.

Glancing at the clock, he sped up his eating, realizing he was running late as usual.  It was strange to be able to remember that - when Regina was his mother full-time - he was _never_ late.  She made sure of it.  

Henry made sure his storybook was secure in his backpack after breakfast, then ran over and gave Emma a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug.  Emma hugged him back.

“You alright, Henry?” she asked, giving him _the look_.

“Yeah. Just wanted you to know I love you,” Henry replied seriously.  “Have a good day, Mom.”

“You too, Kid.  Learn lots.”

“I will.”

_Gonna spend every moment I can in the library and on the Internet today, looking for Storybrooke…_

 

* * *

 

 

Henry continued his web searches for clues about Storybrooke, remembering how Greg and Tamara had said there were _other_ magical places that they had dealt with.  He’d sworn they’d even used language to say they’d “taken them off the map.”  So, if there were crazies like those two who went about getting rid of magic and magical places, then they probably communicated online to share their ideas, right?  

Throughout his homeroom hour, Henry’s research centered on web searches that would hopefully lead him in the right direction.  The substitute teacher was far too busy dealing with one of his troublesome classmates who’d decided to push his boundaries; Henry ignored the commotion and used it to his uninterrupted advantage.  

Once he worked out the right search term, _Operation Save the Queen_ was on!  Henry found tweets and forums that dealt with magical conspiracy theories.  He started jotting down abbreviations and coded speak that were unfamiliar as he bounced from page to page, figuring he could work them out like a word puzzle.  The more sites he visited, the more he began to pick up on the jargon.

He’d worked right to the bell when the substitute teacher finally took notice that he was the only hyper-focused student in her classroom.  

“What are you working on so intently?” she asked.

Henry jumped.  It was too late to close the cover on his laptop because she’d come up on him from behind; he knew she would’ve seen the magic forum he was intently studying.

“I’m working on a paper,” he said.

“On magic?”

Henry smiled at her dubious tone.   _Oh, lady, if you only knew…_

“Yeah!  Well, not _magic_.  But, how magic influences thought and belief through the ages,” he said as if that was absolutely legitimate.

The young substitute smiled kindly.  “Internet forums won’t count as an ‘official’ source for your paper, but at your grade level, I think that doing research of any kind at your intensity should be rewarded.”

“Heh, thanks,” he replied, thinking he could write a book himself that was all about magic!

The bell rang and spared Henry from any further conversation.  He packed up his things, smiled at the sub, then moved on to his next class:  geography.  There, once everyone was set on their in-class work, he posed innocent questions at his teacher about what he and his mom had talked about lost settlements.  He didn’t suppose it was the same, but no one exactly knew what happened to Roanoke either, right?  Aside from recommendations for books and websites to look at about the colony, Henry found the conversation lacking for his actual research.  

It wasn’t until lunch where he could hop back online and continue his investigations.  Henry unintentionally ignored Avery with his razor-focus on the forum discussions that seemed relevant.  His friend finally got up and left in order to socialize with someone who did more than grunt and offer an occasional, “Uh-huh.”

By the school day’s end, Henry had a headful of conspiracy theories and ideas about magic’s influence on this world.  It didn’t exactly lead him to Storybrooke, or more importantly, the Enchanted Forest, but it was a start at least.  He just needed to use the information.

 

* * *

 

  


To his surprise, Henry found Walsh leaning against the bike rack as he exited school.  The handsome, dark-haired furniture guy gave him a disarming smile and a small wave.  Henry waved back, not for a moment forgetting the weird way Walsh had looked at him last night.

“Hey, Henry!”

“Hey, Walsh.  What’s up?” he asked, slipping his backpack straps onto both shoulders.

“Mind if I walk with you?”

He shrugged.  “Sure, that’s fine.  How come you’re not at the store?”

Walsh grinned as they set off down the sidewalk. “Straight and to the point as always, huh?”

“Always,” he agreed.

He’d asked twice for information and twice Walsh had dodged him.  Henry noted this and kept walking.  He did not ask a third time.

“So… how’s school?”

“Good.  Keeps me busy,” Henry replied.

Walsh nodded.  “That’s good.  Heard you’re seriously into geography lately, huh?”

He kept his expression neutral.  “Yeah, I guess.  It’s all for school.  Have to do the homework, you know.”

“Yeah, your mom was saying you were really interested in places that no longer exist,” he remarked.

Henry shrugged.  “Roanoke and stuff.  Because of class.”

_Okay, he’s seriously being creepy,_ he thought.

“I don’t think there were lost colonies in Maine, though, Henry.”

The pre-teen lifted a brow and looked up at his mother’s boyfriend.  He’d always liked Walsh, but since waking up to realize this was a false life, his vibe toward the furniture upholsterer had changed.  It had started with the strange way Walsh had acted last night, and that vibe was getting even more wrong now.

“Who said there was?” he asked with a puzzled look.  “I’m just curious about this stuff.”

“Right.  You said that,” Walsh replied, staring hard at him.  “For class.”

_He knows.  I don’t know who he is or how he knows, but he_ knows _,_ Henry thought.   _Okay.  You’re smart.  Play this carefully._

“Yeah.  For class.”  Clearing his throat, Henry asked, “So, are you still taking Mom out tonight?”

Walsh paused, dark eyes narrowed.  Then, he nodded, his expression clearing some.  “Yes.  That alright with you?”

“Of course.  I have to show Mom some of my homework, to get parental signatures,” Henry said with a forced, resigned sigh - more at having to lie again than anything else - and looked as embarrassed as he could.  “So, you might want to be fashionably late.  Give her time to finish chewing me out.”

Walsh smiled thinly.  “Understood, Henry.  See you tonight.”

He peeled off before even reaching the building, leaving Henry to finish his walk home alone.  That was fine by him, totally creeped out by Walsh somehow knowing what he was researching.  He didn’t know how or why, but Henry knew that _Operation Save the Queen_ ’s timeline had just jumped up quickly.  

 

* * *

 

 

Henry paced the living room, trying to decide how best to handle this with his mother.  Brow furrowed, hands linked behind his back, he considered how difficult it had been to get Emma Swan to believe the first time around and, then, he’d had the benefit of the fairy tales _and_ everyone existing in Storybrooke.  Now, he had his book, but he didn’t even have the town as far as he could tell!  

“This is gonna be rough,” Henry muttered aloud.

Spinning on a heel, he paced back toward the kitchen, still thinking.

“How do you get the Savior to believe when there’s absolutely no proof?”

He had no answer for his question, no strategy that seemed viable.  Henry continued pacing until the only option he could think of came to him: he had to believe in his mother without hesitation.  Henry grabbed his phone and texted her.

_Any chance you can come home early?_

He bit his lower lip and stared at the screen, waiting.

_-What’s up, Henry?  You OK?-_

_I’m good.  Need to talk to you about something,_ Henry typed back.

There was a slightly longer pause, and he pictured her frowning at her iPhone, before the display showed she was typing back.  

_-OK.  See you in less than 20.-_

_OK_ , he replied.

Henry set his phone down, drew the storybook from his backpack, then sat down on the couch to wait.  He was too nervous to snack on anything, trying to plan out exactly what he wanted to say and how best to frame this.  Henry kept flipping the pages of his book, drawing strength from the people he now remembered were his family and friends.  

He heard the door unlock and jumped, closing the book.  Henry set it on the coffee table in front of him and leaped to his feet, looking to the door.  Emma came through in a hurry, and for a moment, he thought she looked just like she had back in Storybrooke as curses and villains were thwarted.

“Henry!  What’s up?  You’re really okay?”

_Not really,_ he thought, though he nodded affirmatively that he was fine.

“Yeah.  Something’s just come up.  I needed to talk to you about it before you and… Walsh… go out tonight.”

She caught how he hesitated over Walsh’s name and lifted a brow.  Henry gestured for his mom to sit down; she took a chair and he sat back down on the couch.

“Cool book.  Where’d you pick that up?” she asked.

Henry sighed.  “Remember when I was asking you about Maine this morning?”

“Yeah, so?” Emma said with a nod.

“I… got this in Maine.  A place called Storybrooke, Maine.”

His mother sighed and arched her eyebrow.  “Henry… _you’ve_ never been to Maine.”

He swallowed hard.  “Actually, I have.  You just… can’t... remember right now.”

“ _Henry_.”  Emma’s voice dropped to that warning octave when she was exasperated with him.  “ _What_ are you talking about?”

“I know I’m probably scaring you.  And I’m sorry for that.  But… the life we’re living right now isn’t real.  It’s a gift that… Regina gave us before we left town.”  Henry searched her steely gaze, hoping that some measure of this was sinking in as familiar.  

“Regina?  Regina who?”

He sighed, deciding to stick to what Emma could comprehend for now.  Fairy tale explanations would send her over the edge.  “Regina Mills.  She was the mayor of Storybrooke and a really close friend of ours.”

“Storybrooke.  Regina.”  She repeated the names, then frowned and shook her head.  “Henry, seriously: where did you get the book?  You don’t have to make up a whole story like this.”

Henry made a face and decided that, maybe, the fairy tale idea would work better.  It had before, after all.

“Well, here.  Check the book out, anyway,” he said and passed the heavy book to her.

Emma took it in both hands, set it on her lap, and flipped through the pages, looking both puzzled and intrigued.  Henry held his breath, watching her.  

“Cool.  Fairy tales, huh?  Where’d you get this?  Is it for school then?” she asked.

He sighed loudly.  In desperation, he jumped up and pointed to the pages.  “No!  Look _harder_.  That… that right there is Regina.  She’s also known as the Evil Queen.  Flip the page.  That’s Snow White.  She’s your mother!”

“Henry!” she snapped.  The book slammed closed and was tossed onto the coffee table.  In a flash, his mother was on her feet and touching his shoulder and forehead.  “You’re talking crazy!  Do you not feel well?  What’s _wrong_?”

“Nothing!” he replied, jerking back from her touch.  “Nothing’s wrong with me!  It’s this life!  It’s not real!  I didn’t grow up with you!  You gave me up as a baby.  I was adopted by Regina and grew up in Maine, until I came to find you.  You were in Boston!  Don’t you remember?”

She looked at him, frightened.  Henry hated seeing that look in her eyes.  He picked the book up again and passed it to her.

“Hold it again!  It worked before!” he pleaded.  “You have to believe me!”

“I believe that you’re having an episode of some kind, Henry.  Let me help you,” she said earnestly.  “You have to let me help you.”

“Then _believe!_  They’re in trouble!”

Emma wouldn’t take the book from him, so he set it with his backpack.  

“Henry, I believe you need some help.  Why don’t you sit down.  Maybe even lie down… I’ll get the thermometer.  You felt kinda hot…”

He shook his head in dismay.  Regina had done a number on her for sure with the spell.  Henry sighed heavily.  “I’m not sick.  And I’m not crazy!  This is all real.  You just have to remember.”

“Henry Swan, _sit down_.  Please.”

He complied, landing in a heap on the couch.  He put the book away.  “Sitting.”

Emma stared at him, her hands set on her hips.  “Is this about Walsh?”

“ _What_?” he asked, startled.  “Why would you think it’s about Walsh?”

She tilted her head to the side, looking disappointed.  His mother’s heavy sigh matched his from moments ago, contemplating her son.  Henry waited.

“Walsh called me.  He said he’d walked you home from school and that things got a little weird,” she said finally.

Henry blinked in obvious surprise.  “He did?”

“Yeah.  He did.”  She continued to give him that look that said she’d _know_ if he was lying.  “Walsh said he wanted to talk to you about our future.  And that you flipped out on him.  Henry, _really_?  I thought you liked Walsh.”

_Oh no.  He got to her first!  How stupid of me!  I should’ve texted her right away!_

“I… do like Walsh,” he said, trying to look as honest and sincere as possible even though he was baffled by the dark-haired man and his place in their lives now.  Henry could improvise against anyone but his mother so this was going to be tough.  “I just… don’t know if making things _that_ permanent is right yet.”

“Alright,” she said with a sigh.  “So why all this stuff about Storybrooke, Maine?”

Henry looked down and could be completely truthful in saying, “I don’t know what I was thinking.  I’m sorry I scared you, Mom.”

Emma folded her arms over her chest.  “Thank you.  Henry, we’ll work on the issues you may have about Walsh that you’ve never shared with me before.  But, I don’t like that you made up this _crazy_ tale about fairy tale relatives and _lying_ about our life together!  You are grounded.  No games, no internet.  You’ll do homework and read tonight while Mrs. Cuse sits over tonight.”

Henry’s head snapped up.  “You’re still going out tonight then?”

She nodded.  “I need to smooth things over with Walsh.  He was really hurt, Henry.”

“I’m sorry,” he said glumly.

Emma sighed and stared at him.  “Go on to your room.  Get started on homework.”

“Alright.  I’m sorry, Mom.”

He rose, grabbed his backpack and shuffled down the hall, head bowed.  Henry closed the door behind him and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.  

_Well, I ran away from Storybrooke to go to Boston. How hard could it be to go from New York back to where Storybrooke used to be?_

He stuffed snacks into his backpack, in a separate pocket from where his book rested.  Henry glanced around his room, then packed his laptop too.  He wasn’t sure if it would help him at all, but it didn’t hurt to take it.  Everything packed, he went to his desk and wrote his mother a note.  

_She’ll believe again.  Somehow.  But, I can’t wait for that to happen.  Not with Walsh somehow in the know._

Henry bit his lip as he decided what to write, then set to work.  He knew he had to be quick about it because she was apt to pop in.  He decided he’d wait until she left for her date with Walsh and Mrs. Cuse was sitting over.  Henry would put the note on his bed, then sneak out the fire escape with his things.

 

_Mom,_

_I’m not running away.  This is just a trip I have to take.  To Maine, like I told you about.  I wish holding the book would have made you remember too.  I don’t know why it didn’t.  I’m NOT crazy!_

_Be careful around Walsh.  I know I used to like him.  But, something’s wrong there and he lied about our conversation.  He never brought up marrying you, I swear.  You always tell me to trust my gut so, please trust me on this._

_I love you,_

_Henry_

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

  
_A/N: There was a question if this is going to be a SwanQueen story.  Honestly, I haven’t decided!  I know for sure its RegalBeliever, but whether the Emma/Regina dynamic comes into play… well, stay tuned and we’ll find out together! :)_

 

_Apologies for the extremely long wait!  Life has been crazy-rough the last few months and I haven’t had the energy to be creative._

 

_As always, I don’t own OUAT.  ABC does!_

 

 

Emma sighed heavily and slipped out of her power heels as she closed the door behind her.  Mrs. Cuse popped her head out from the kitchen and offered her a kindly smile.

“That was a very world-weary sigh, Emma…”

Picking up the heels and carrying them down the hall, she gave their babysitter and neighbor a nod.  “Yes, it was.”

Mrs. C knew Emma tended to be a private person by nature and respected that.  But, she was concerned for the younger woman because that sigh sounded _pained_.  However, she knew Emma would stay quiet even if she tried to help her open up.

“Did you have a nice date?  Walsh certainly seems enchanting…” she said with a wistful look.

Emma lifted a brow at her and couldn’t help but smile.  It was clear that Mrs. Cuse would’ve fancied the furniture maker if she wasn’t thirty years too old for him.  

“Yes, he is,” she replied.  Quickly changing the subject, Emma asked, “How was Henry?”

“Quite as a door mouse.  He said he had homework to tackle and has been in his room all night.”  

“Huh.  Didn’t try to get a pass on video games from you?” Emma asked as she paid her her usual fare.

Mrs. C shook her head.  “No.  I know you said he was grounded, but he must have been complicated school work.  Henry’s reached that age where the assignments start to get harder…”

Emma hardly heard her as the retired schoolteacher reminisced about teaching Henry’s grade level once upon a time.  Instead, she was puzzling over the fact that Henry stayed in his room.  It wasn’t like him.  At all.  It set Emma’s nerves on edge.  But, she didn’t let Mrs. Cuse know that, half-tuning back into what she was saying as she walked her neighbor to the door.

“...but, now they change the curriculum every year, so what do I know?” she finished, smiling.

“You and me both,” Emma agreed.  “Thanks again for watching Henry.”

“My pleasure.  Always.   Good night, Emma.”

She nodded.  “Good night, Mrs. C.”

Emma closed the door and frowned, storming back up the hallway and around the corner to the short hall where the bedrooms were.  “Henry?  Henry!  Hey, Kid--”

When he hadn’t come out when she got home, and hadn’t responded to her voice, Emma opened the door.  Her heart dropped to her now-churning stomach as her fear was realized:  Henry had run.  

“Shit.”

Frowning, she scanned her son’s room and quickly found the folded sheet of paper on his bed.  Emma sat down on the bed’s edge and sighed, rubbing her forehead with one hand as she read his letter.

“Oh, Henry… what have you _done_?”

Holding the note tightly in her hand, she looked for his laptop and - of course - found he’d taken it.  Emma’s gaze turned toward the window and she smacked her free hand on the quilt, knowing he used the fire escape to go.

“Henry!” she shouted at the empty room.

Jumping up, Emma went to the living room to grab her cell phone.  She held it, punching in 911 immediately.  Reporting him a runaway would put an Amber Alert out, and that would put everyone from New York City to Wherever, Maine on alert.  She hung up, however, before the dispatcher could come on the line, frowning.

 _He’s not a runaway,_ Emma reasoned, thinking like the bail bondsperson she was.   _He said so himself.  Henry may be… disturbed… right now, but he’s not a runaway.  If I pull an Amber Alert on him, it may spook him.  I don’t want to do the wrong thing here_.

She almost phoned Walsh, but then held off.  Emma thought about the warning in Henry’s letter, which she still clutched in her hand, _and_ how this evening’s date had gone.  Walsh had gone from strongly suggesting Henry had emotional problems and needed professional help to proposing over dessert.  Emma had been put off by his tirade about her son and found it awkward that he’d use the same evening to propose marriage.  She’d deferred on an answer, which Walsh took in stride.  But, it didn’t feel right.

“No,” she said aloud, “calling Walsh is the _wrong_ thing to do.”

Swearing again, Emma went to change clothes and throw together an overnight bag for Henry and herself.  She’d find her son herself.  After all, he told her where he was going:  Storybrooke, Maine.  

_Wherever that is._

  


Henry reflected that it was rather ironic that he’d run away from Regina and Storybrooke to find Emma.  Now, he was running away from Emma to find Regina and what might be left of the magic of Storybrooke!  He rode in silence on the Greyhound bus as it trekked North, making no effort to make conversation with any other riders.  He either read his book or gazed out the window, watching the landscape go by.

His ticket took him to the last known town outside of where Storybrooke was supposed to be; it was the same bus stop he’d used three years earlier.  Henry was cautious about avoiding eye contact and conversation.  He knew that his mother would be hot on his trail and tracking people down as her specialty, so he had to be smart to stay ahead of her.  

_What I’m going to do when I get there is still anybody’s guess… I don’t suppose I’d get lucky and find they’d re-re-cursed themselves back to this land, right?  Of course, if they had, Mom would have reached out to us._

With a sigh, Henry started walking.  He walked the sidewalk to avoid arousing suspicion while in the small Maine burg, keeping his eye out for a bike he could borrow.  That opportunity presented itself two blocks before heading out of the town limits.  Henry noticed the bike, turned on its side where it had fallen over.  There was no one around, so he casually picked up the bike and plucked a pre-written note from his bag, apologizing for the “theft.”  The note, that included an approximate location of where to find the bike, was tied to a rock.  He set the rock down, then pedaled away as fast as his pumping legs could take him.

Having done this before, in the opposite direction, the route was familiar.  Henry knew when he found his landmark, the large rock beside the road, he was where the town line would have been.  Skidding the bike to a stop, he climbed off, and set the kickstand.  Henry reached his hands out in front of him, walking as if he were navigating a darkened room, feeling for the barrier of the curse.  His hands only met air, though, and he dropped them to his side.

“It’s really not here,” Henry said with a heavy sigh.  He closed his eyes, concentrating.  

Re-opening them, he went back and hopped on the bike.  Henry crossed where the magical town line had been and cycled down the road, mentally mapping where he was if this were Storybrooke.  He made a left at another county road, headed toward the field that Anton and the dwarves had toiled on.  Henry clung to hope that just one of Anton’s magic beans had survived and remained in _this_ land when the town vanished and his loved ones were returned to the Enchanted Forest.

 

 

As she narrowed down her search of the wilds of Maine, Emma battled her fears of losing her only son.  Like any good bail bondsperson would, she had triangulated Henry’s location using sightings and non-sightings alike.  Now, as her cell buzzed incessantly with texts from Walsh (which she had ignored), Emma and her yellow Bug raced over the county roads where Henry _had_ to be.  

She couldn’t fathom what had gotten into him, nor what would make him so determined to come to this desolate stretch of uninhabited _Maine_ , but it mattered more just to find Henry right now.  Emma screeched to a halt as she spotted a bicycle standing neatly on its kickstand.  It matched that she’d learned had gone missing a few towns back, the one that had the neat apology note written in Henry’s neat, precise penmanship.  

Emma hopped out and looked to either side of the road.  “Henry?!  Henry, are you here?!”

Hand curled into a fist, he popped out from behind brush alongside the ditch.  “Mom?  Wow.  You were even faster than I thought.”

She half-smirked at the compliment in his voice.  “Kid, it’s what I _do_ for a living.”

“I know,” he replied.  “That’s why I had to be fast.”

Emma nodded, then looked meaningfully toward his closed fist.  “What’re you carrying there, Henry?”

He smiled an infectious, contagious smile that made Emma feel like everything might be okay after all.  Then, Henry spoke.

“A magic bean!  It survived when the town was destroyed!”

Emma lifted her brows, shoulders tensing.  “Henry… magic beans?  Really?”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe.  But that doesn’t matter.   _Seeing_ is believing, right?” he said.  “You’ll want to come over here…”

Emma walked away from the car and made her way toward him, warily, because he’d asked her to.  She figured that was a good sign, that he was being welcoming toward her.  Henry opened his fist, gazed down at the magic bean, and then took a deep breath.  He tossed it with purpose toward the hard-packed earth and waited.

“What’s it supposed to-- _Ohhh!_ Henry!  GET BACK!” Emma shouted in alarm as the ground beneath the innocuous bean suddenly opened up, creating a vortex of greenish light like nothing she’d seen before.

“NO!” he yelled back, grabbing her hand.  “This is what we have to do to help her!”

“Henry, no!” Emma cried, trying to pull away.

But, he jumped forward into the portal and his momentum hurled her forward because Emma was not about to lose her son to the magical craziness she was now witnessing.  She shouted in terror as they fell through and into the swirling green light until it suddenly stopped and they both crash landed hard in a forest.

“We’re here!  It really worked!  YES!”  Henry sat up and smacked his fist into his palm.  He looked around the woods, then at his mother, offering her hand to stand up with.  “Are you okay?”

Winded but alright, Emma nodded and took his hand.  “Yeah.  Where are we?”

“Welcome to the Enchanted Forest, Mom,” Henry replied.  “C’mon.  We have to go find my other Mom and _your_ parents.”

Emma exhaled noisily and looked around.  He might have said that seeing was believing, but finding herself in the middle of a forest wasn’t doing much to inspire belief in any of what he was saying.  They both knew she was an orphan so what was his problem?

“Henry…”

“No.  C’mon, Mom.  I think I know where we are.”  He plucked the story book from his backpack and consulted the pages with a very similar looking forest to the trees they stood by as if he were looking at a map.  “Yeah.  This way!”

Emma had no choice but to follow.  Henry moved with purpose, eventually finding a dirt road that stretched off in either direction.  

“Well?  Now what?”

Henry grinned up at her and snapped the book shut.  “You tell me.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped onto the road, looking for tire tracks to establish a pattern of which way most drove on this fairly narrow dirt path.  It was rutted, but with hooves and the thinner wheels of carriages or wagons.  Emma made a face and looked back at her son.

“Seriously?”

He nodded, still grinning.  “Seriously.  Which way then?”

Emma sighed and pointed to the right, where the hoof prints were headed.  Going with the traffic made as much sense as anything else at this point.

“Cool.  Let’s go then!”

As they walked, Emma looked at their surroundings.  No power lines.  No cell towers.  That prompted her to check her phone.  No signal, but all of the texts from Walsh were in her notifications.  She opened them as they followed the hoof prints.  Walsh’s messages quickly went from those of concern for her and for Henry, to ones that were increasingly threatening, warning her from chasing after her “crazy son.”  The more she read, the more frightened and disgusted she felt.

“Henry… what’s the deal with Walsh?” she asked as casually as possible.

He glanced up at her.  “What do you mean?”

“How much of _this_ … did he know about?”

Henry shrugged.  “I don’t know.  But, he was lying to you about walking me home from school and my flipping out at him.  And he got creepy with me when I was looking up Maine online.  So, he knows _something_.  Why?”

With a fresh sigh, Emma handed him her phone with the threatening texts.  Henry read through the messages, understanding her question better.  As he’d thought, Walsh _definitely knew_.  And he didn’t want them to come here.

“Kid, I’m sorry.  I wanted to hope I’d finally found a good guy.  I couldn’t see that he was another whacko.”

 “It’s okay, Mom.  I know you want a happy ending,” Henry replied, handing her back her phone.  “I don’t think Walsh is it, but maybe your happy ending is here…”


	7. Chapter 7

##  **Chapter 7**  

_A/N:  Thanks for sticking with this story and me!  As always, I do not own OUAT.  :)  ABC does!  A million apologies for taking so long and thank you to SongForRegina for the review that prodded me back to writing!_

 

 

The Enchanted Forest was everything that Henry had ever imagined.  Its natural beauty and vibrance spoke to his heart and soul, leaving him with an extra-wide grin on his lips as they walked.  Emma, on the other hand, had no memory of her previous visit to this land and walked warily beside her son, looking like she expected the worst around every bend of the dirt-packed road.

“Still don’t remember anything?” Henry asked.

“I wish you’d stop asking me that,” Emma muttered in reply.

He couldn’t figure out why Regina’s spell had been so potent on her when handling the storybook had been enough to wake him up.  Henry gave Emma a pensive look, then focused on the road, thinking they had to be close to the border of his adoptive mother’s lands.  He wondered when a sentry would spot them, and who it might be.  

“Are we there yet?” Emma asked, her tread heavy.

“Should be, actually,” Henry said.

“Are we really in your book?”

He sighed.   _She’s still not understanding_.  

“Not _in_ the book.  We’re in the land from where the book gets its stories,” Henry clarified.  “It’ll make sense when you can remember again.”

“How’s that going to happen exactly?”

Henry looked at her.  “I wish I knew, Mom.”

They continued along the road and he wished they’d at least cross paths with someone they knew from Storybrooke life.  Henry didn’t think it would make Emma immediately remember, but it might at least jog her memory.

“Kid, what if we were exposed to something?  Like… a chemical or something?  And now, we’re just out in the woods, in Maine, and _not_ in a story book?” Emma challenged.

“We weren’t.  The portal was _real_.  We’re in the Enchanted Forest now.  Not Maine,” he said matter of factly.

“How do you know?”

Henry stopped short and pointed.  “Because _that_ is the troll bridge.  And it's right here in my book!”

He opened his backpack and hurriedly opened to Snow White and Prince Charming’s story.  Henry displayed the drawing to his mother.

“See?  Exact same stone work!  There are trolls under it.  They--”

“--live beneath the bridge.  Right,” Emma said.

“You remember?!” Henry exclaimed.

“Henry, _no_.  That’s just a story.  And… yeah, that looks a lot like the bridge in your book.  But, that doesn’t mean anything.  There are lots of pictures in books that look like real places.”

He sighed dramatically, stuffed the book back in his backpack and moved on.  At least, by finding the troll bridge, he knew they were on the right path to get to his mom’s castle.

“Well, we should almost be there, anyway,” Henry said.

“No, you won’t.”

Henry turned to the sound of the gruff voice behind him.  He yelped in surprise as a knight in maroon and sporting a silver mesh headdress, grabbed him roughly.  Beside him, Emma kicked and fought at the sudden attack as a pair of knights overpowered her too.

“HENRY?!”

“King George’s men!” he exclaimed, trying to squirm out of the knight’s grasp.

“Who?!”

Henry couldn’t reply.  A gag slipped around his head, covering his mouth so that his attempt to explain came out muffled and ineffective.  Hands bound too, he and Emma were dragged to the waiting prison wagon.  They had been so close to reaching the outer perimeter of guards that Snow and Charming had established, and now, they were being hauled in the opposite direction on the Queen’s Road, headed for King George’s kingdom.  The trolls, of course, made no effort to intercede and stayed hidden beneath their bridge.

Emma gave her son a wide-eyed, terrified look as she righted herself in the hay-strewn wagon.  Henry was scared too, but he sympathized for his mother who didn’t believe or understand what was really happening.  He took in the number of guards, now that he could see those who had ambushed them.  It was too many, Henry thought, to try and overcome _if_ they could even free themselves without being noticed.  

Emma exclaimed a muffled sound that Henry knew was his name.  He looked back to her and shook his head no, trying to look as calm as possible.  Then, he twisted around, in search of his backpack.  He hadn’t gotten it back on his shoulders before they’d been ambushed.  Henry scooted to the back of the wagon and stared in dismay.  His bag lay on the road and they were moving further and further away from it…

 

 

“They’re here!  They’re here!”

Snow startled at Grumpy’s pronouncement.  Beside her, David paused to wonder how it was _always_ Grumpy who came in as the crier, bringing great or terrible news.  

“ _Who_ is here, Grumpy?” Snow asked.  

By now, even she was losing hope that Henry had been able to understand their shared dream, or act on it.  It had been some time since the last dream and when there’d been no sign of him and no word, Snow worried there was really no way for Henry to reach out to them.

“Look!” was Grumpy’s reply.  Grinning, he thrust Henry’s backpack toward the couple.

“Henry’s backpack!” she cried out as David gasped.  “He’s here!”

“No, they’re here.  Emma too, judging by the boot prints!” Doc explained.  

David looked at the dwarves expectantly.  “Where _are_ they, then?  Why is his bag not with Henry?”

Grumpy looked more like his usual self with the question.  Dourly, he said, “Taken. By King George’s men.”

“What?!” Snow cried.  “How?!”

“They were just shy of the troll bridge,” Doc reported, speaking quickly.  “We found Henry’s backpack in the middle of the road and signs of a struggle evident in the soft dirt.  He must have lost his backpack in the process.  Tennis shoes and boots that were not from this land were among the footprints, along with knights’ footprints.  A wagon’s wheel path was a short distance beyond and the hoof prints we followed led away from here.”

Snow and David exchanged bewildered glances.  If they’d found a way to make it to the Enchanted Forest, then there was hope of waking Regina from her sleeping curse.  But, in order to make that happen, they’d have to save Emma and Henry.

“We’ll find them,” David said confidently.  

“We have to,” Snow whispered.

 

 

“So.”

Henry and Emma stared through the bars at King George, pompous and regal in a long red robe, crusted with jewels on the white fur that trimmed the royal robe.  He stared down his nose at them, in their separate but adjacent cells.

“...so?” Emma repeated.

Henry walked closer to his bars and peered out at him.  “King George, this is silly.  Why do you have us locked up?”

George sneered at him.  “Because I understand the importance of having hostages.”

“Hostages?  Really?” Emma balked.  “I don’t even know where I am--”

“ _Mom_!” Henry hissed urgently, trying to silence her.

Confused, she looked at her son.  He gestured frantically to stay quiet.  George watched, smirking.

“It hardly matters what she says, young Henry.  Word will travel, if I do not send word myself that I have you both,” he said.  

“And then what?” Henry challenged.

“Then, your _grandparents_ \--”  George paused, the word clearly distasteful to him, “ _\--_ cede their kingdom to me, or I take the satisfaction of watching their heirs _die_.”

“Whoa, _what_?” Emma snapped, rushing her bars, glaring fiercely at George.

Henry ignored her for the time being, thinking about George’s plan and how Snow and David would respond to that.  He knew his history; they would stage an escape.  After all, they always found each other and he and Emma were part of that tradition too.   And, as before, George would be ready for them… which made this dangerous.

Looking smug, Henry said, “Don’t you know by _now_ that evil never wins?  And that’s what you’re _being_ right now.  Evil.  Playing these power games.  Holding us hostage.  Didn’t you learn anything from being in Storybrooke?”

George stepped closer to Henry, expression dark.  “Don’t speak to _me_ about that vile, pathetic land where your mother trapped us for her pleasure, boy.  I should kill _you_ outright to spite her.”

“NO!”  Emma slammed herself against her bars, a futile move that resulted only in giving herself bruises over her shoulder and ribcage that she’d feel later.  

Henry stared back, defiant and brave.  He knew that’s how he had to be, facing off against George who only knew boldness and aggression.  The king saw something in his eyes as he glared back, smirked, and looked at Emma.

“He’s just like his grandfather.  Bold and foolish.  Seems to run strongly in your family.”

“You sonofa--”

But, as the curses rattled off Emma’s lips, George simply turned and strode away, followed by his knights.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  Thanks for sticking with this story and me!  As always, I do not own OUAT.  :)  ABC does!             Again, I’m sorry for the delay; I think it’s shorter than last time though!

 

             “I say we charge in catapults, arrows, and fairies flying,” Grumpy asserted, scowling with arms folded across his broad chest.  “Why be subtle?  Do it just like when we tried to rescue you, Your Highness.”

            Charming nodded, similarly eager to just _go_ in hard and fast to rescue his daughter and grandson.  Beside him, in white, Snow shook her head.

            “As you just said, Grumpy, we’ve tried that.  Remember what happened?   _Charming wasn’t even there._  Regina had anticipated what we’d do and made sure to spoil our plans,” she countered.

            “Yeah, but that’s because she wanted to make a point and parlay,” Grumpy replied quickly.  “And she had magic to pull it all off too.”

            Snow frowned.  “We’d have magic to _help us_ if Regina hadn’t put herself into the sleeping curse…”

            “Well, we do have Blue and the fairies,” Charming reminded.  “But--”

            “But, their magic doesn’t have the ruthlessness that we could use right now.”

            Granny, Red, and the dwarves gasped softly, hearing Snow say that.  Of course, everyone understood it was her family at stake, but it was still jarring to hear that!  Jiminy fluttered toward his amplifier and cleared his throat.

            “I appreciate what you’re saying Snow, and the alarm that you just elicited.”  He paused.  “But, the Queen is not available to help us.  We need to find a way to rescue Emma and Henry ourselves, with clear consciences, so Henry can come back and try to awaken Regina.”

            Charming and Snow both sighed, nodding.

            “How then?” Red asked.

            Jiminy looked toward her.  “When is the next full moon?”

            “Jiminy--” Charming started to interject.

            Red cut him off, touching her cloak.  “In three days.”

            “If you could get me to where they’re being held--”

            “ _Jiminy.  Red--”_

            They ignored him, Red nodding as he continued.  “--I could pick the lock or work through any restraints that hold them.”  Charming tried to protest again and the cricket gave him a sharp look.  “It worked when freeing you, remember?”

            “I remember, but--”

            “And my… nature… helped buy you time with King George before, _remember_?” Red added.

            “I do, but--”

            Snow put a hand on his arm to stall him.  “It’s a worthwhile plan, if _we_ can provide them a diversion in order to get deep enough into his castle.  Once we know for certain that’s where they’re being held.”

            Charming fell silent, at last, considering all of this.  He didn’t want their friends to have to take such high risks when it was _their_ family imprisoned!  He looked to Snow, hoping she’d understand and present a different plan.

            Red shook her head.  “Emma stood by me, back in Storybrooke, when I struggled with who I am.”

            “She’s always been a positive influence, trying to do what’s right.  It’s an inspiration,” Jiminy chimed in.

            “I agree,” Charming argued half-heartedly.  “But--”

            “ _Charming_ ,” Snow said kindly.  “Let’s devise our side of this campaign, and determine where best to engage George so they can rescue our daughter and Henry.”

            He huffed, then nodded.  “Alright.  Let’s.”

 

            Suspecting that George would be wise to a diversion after his own rescue, at the last moment, David insisted on splitting their forces further to make this a siege on all sides.  In the chaos of battle against dwarf, fairy, and human, Jiminy and Red made their way into the castle separately.  For the former, it was easy enough to fly through an open window and quietly buzz his way toward the dungeons.  For the latter… well, it was enough to understand that the rescue was staged on a full moon.

The duo reached the open passageway to the dungeon together.  

“Get back!  I’m telling you, stay away from me!”

“Emma!” Jiminy chirped in alarm.

They charged down the torch-lit corridor, fearing for what they’d find.  Fangs bared, Red poised to pounce the cloaked form that stood before Emma’s cell.

“No, wait!” Henry cried out from his cell.

The cloaked figure spun in surprise, rapier cutting through the air.

“NO!” Jiminy and Henry shouted together, the former unheard with his diminutive size.    

Red - as a wolf still - landed hard, coming down just below the rapier’s arc.  She growled menacingly as Hook shouted, “Bloody hell!  What’re you doing?!”

Emma, backed as far away from the bars as she could now, stared in alarm as this played out in front of her.  “What the _hell_?!”

Henry shouted, “Back off, Hook.  Mom doesn’t remember you.  And Mom!  It’s okay.  These are our friends!”

“Our friends?!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah.  Hey Archie.  Ruby.”

She tilted her head, ears flickering that she heard him.  Jiminy chirped and dove past Hook to start working on the locks.  Hook looked thoroughly discomfited by the werewolf holding him at bay, with good reason.  The glint in her eyes clearly looked like she felt Hook had overstepped.

“Alright, alright!  Easy, Red!” he shouted.  

She growled back, watching him.

“You got it!” Henry whooped softly as Jiminy broke the lock that held his cell door shut.  As he opened it, Jiminy moved on to Emma’s cell.  “I know you don’t remember, Mom, but you gotta trust me.  These are friends.  I promise.”

“Just keep _him_ away from me,” Emma warned, gesturing at Hook.

Red growled again and the pirate took several steps up the corridor.  

“She doesn’t remember!  How was I to know!  I thought true love’s kiss--”

At that, the wolf nipped at his heels.  Hook shouted and backed off further.

“I _told you_ that Mom wasn’t in love with you.  Even I know it doesn’t work that way,” Henry said with a frown.  He glanced past Hook to make sure guards weren’t charging toward them, then looked back to watch Jiminy work.

“I’ll go on ahead to scout,” Hook offered.

Red backed off enough for him to move in that direction, pacing restlessly.  Emma’s padlock made a soft _clink_ sound as it disengaged.  She lurched forward, emerging to stand with her son.

“Hi…?” she said awkwardly to wolf and cricket.

Red padded over to her and nudged Emma’s hand to be petted.  Jiminy fluttered in front of her, waving.  She looked incredulous.

“Are my grandparents here too?” Henry asked.

Jiminy chirped affirmatively.  

“Cool.  How did you know we were here?” he asked.

“Kid.  Let’s _go_ ,” Emma insisted.  “Learn later.”

“Oh!  Right.”

Red led the way, catching up with Hook who guarded the door.  As they ascended the steep stone stairs, they could hear the battle raging around them, outside the castle.  The crash of steel-on-steel and shouting voices carried inside, giving Henry and Emma a sense of how much effort had gone into their rescue.

“This way,” Hook suggested.

Red growled and shook her head violently.  Jiminy whistled and re-directed everyone down an opposite passageway.  Emma gave Hook a look, shrugged, and followed Red instead.

“Bloody hell,” Hook muttered, following them.

They proceeded several feet down the hallway, an exit in sight, when George’s smug voice resonated behind them.  “Well, _well._ What a motley bunch we have here.   _Halt_.”

Red turned, fixing him with a deadly stare.  Hook’s was nearly as fierce.  Henry looked anxious and Emma was still bewildered.  Jiminy was nowhere to be seen.

“Drop the sword,” George intoned to Hook, then returned a baleful look at Red.  “And you stand down, or I’ll have you put down.”

“No!” Henry shouted.

“Such foolish courage.  Of course, that’s what your family is _known for_ , isn’t it.”

Henry stirred and Emma dropped a hand onto his shoulder to hold him still.  George smirked.

“Your parents were smart,” he said, looking to Emma.  “Changing their tactics.  It _almost_ had me fooled.”

Emma still didn’t believe that Prince Charming and Snow White were her parents, but she was not about to be intimidated.  “I’d say their plan did pretty well.”

“While you are still my prisoner?  I think not,” he countered.

“Who says she’s your prisoner now?” Charming challenged from behind the king, his sword barely touching George’s robed back.

Jiminy fluttered into view, chirping.

“Great work, Jiminy!” Henry cheered.

“You’re surrounded, George.  Have your men stand down.   _Now_ ,” Snow warned, the coldness of her tone as ferocious as Red’s growls.

George’s gaze flickered to his captain and gave a subtle nod.  The knights relaxed their postures, but only for a split second.  They charged David, Snow, and Hook.  Emma’s fist clenched, but she held onto Henry with her free hand, pulling them both away from the fray.  It was a quick, but fierce battle that ended up with Charming holding his “stepfather” to the wall, the knights felled.

“Stand down,” David warned.

“So we can war another day,” George said with a defiant smirk.  However, he bowed his head in defeat.

Charming took a step back, eyeing him.

In the moment of silence, Snow lurched forward, crying out, “Emma!  Henry!”

Emma startled, but her mother was on her quicker than she could bolt, enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.  “Oh gods, Emma.  I thought we’d never see you again!”

Henry beamed, watching the reunion.

Emma tensed, then awkwardly hugged back.  “You’re… my mom?”

Snow’s gaze flickered to Henry for a moment.

“She doesn’t remember yet,” he confirmed.

“Oh, _Emma_.  You’ve had to go through _all of this_ with no memory?  I’m so sorry.  You’ll be okay, honey.  I promise we’ll sort all this out.”

Afraid, Emma was also overcome.  “You’re… you’re my _mother_?”

“I am.  And that’s your father there.”

The dwarves arrived and surrounded George, moving him away from the scene.  He could be held in his own dungeon for the time being, as the remaining knights were rounded up.  Granny appeared and covered Red with her cloak, turning her back to human form.  David moved past them as they embraced, already retelling the mission, and approached mother and daughter.

“ _Emma_.  Are you okay?” he asked.

She bit her lip, looking from Henry to the pair of them.  “You’re my _parents?_ ”

“Yeah.  We are,” David confirmed gently.  

“And you… you did all of this to rescue me?    _Us?_ ”

Snow grinned and squeezed her hand.  “Yeah.  We did.  We always fight for our family.”

Emma shivered, a range of emotion coursing through her.  She was still frightened of these circumstances, baffled by her parents looking _her age_ , and then awed by the fact that _these people_ \- all of these people - had risked their safety for her and for Henry.  Tears welled in her eyes and she choked back a sob.

“Emma?” Snow asked, concerned, watching her.

She swallowed hard and hugged her mother fiercely as memories flooded her mind.  Spell broken by the true love of family and friends, Emma shifted from her to David, hugging him too.  

“She remembers!” Henry hollered.  

He hugged Snow and the foursome quickly formed a group hug, surrounded by Red, Granny, and Marco, Jiminy perched on his shoulder.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_A/N:  As always, I do not own OUAT.  :)  ABC does!_

 

Since Regina had put herself under the sleeping curse, Robin Hood had kept vigil outside her quarters to ensure her safety.  They’d moved her there for comfort (they hoped) rather than leave her in the audience chamber where she had enchanted herself.  When asked why he stayed, Robin insisted it was the honorable thing to do… and, pragmatically, staying at the castle gave Roland a safe place to stay for the time being.  The fate of the Merry Men was still in question now that they’d been returned to the Enchanted Forest.

“Robin!” Henry called out, surprised to see him there.

“Ah, you’re here?!”

“I am now!  It was a whole quest to get here!  Where’s my mom?”

Behind Henry, Emma, her parents, and it seemed half the land hurried along too.  Robin’s gaze shifted from them and back to Regina’s son, his heart beating quick with the hope that Henry really could wake her as she’d hoped.

“In here, lad.”  He hesitated a moment, eyeing Emma, Snow, and Charming.

Charming gave him a nod.  Robin stepped aside, giving way for Henry to enter the queen’s chambers.  Henry dashed past him and barely spared a glance at the room itself; he knew it so well from his book’s drawings!  He ran for her bed where his mom was peacefully laid out, dressed as the Evil Queen.

“Mom… I’m here,” he whispered.

Hushed, Emma, Snow, and Charming entered behind him.  Everyone else had waited in the outer chamber with Robin.

A puzzled look on her face as she gazed down at Regina as the queen, Emma whispered, “What if it was Graham who would be able to wake her?  And he’s dead?”

Henry wheeled around to stare at her, incredulous.  “Mom never loved Graham!  And I bet he didn’t love her either.”

Mollified, she blushed.  “I’m just sayin’, Kid…”

He rolled his eyes and turned back to face his mother, taking her hand.  Henry gave it a squeeze.  “I’m here.  And I love you, Mom.  Come back to me.  To us…”

He leaned over her and softly kissed Regina’s cheek, then pulled back to watch, his expression radiating hope.  Everyone held their breath, watching and waiting.  Then, Regina’s back arched with a harsh _gasp_ and her eyes fluttered open.

“ _Henry?!”_ she cried out.

“Mom!  You’re awake!”

“Henry, you did it!” Emma cheered.

Regina sat up and pulled her son into a fierce hug.  He gasped at the force of it, crushed to her, beaming.

At the foot of the bed, Snow and Charming embraced too.

“You found me, Henry,” Regina wept, touched.

“That’s what we do.  We always find each other in this family, remember?” he whispered.

She laughed softly, wiping her eyes, gaze taking in the fact that Emma and her parents too.

“How did you get here?” she asked.

“It was an adventure!” Henry replied, grinning as he pulled back.  “I started having _dreams_ about you in New York, even though I didn’t remember _you_ at first!”

“You did?”

“Yeah!  I think because of how I had been under that sleeping curse.  The magic came with me,” he explained.  “So, I worked on how to make sense of my dreams, and once I remembered--”

“--he hopped a bus back to Storybrooke,” Emma interjected dryly, “because I didn’t remember _anything_.  I chased him down--”

“--and we used a magic bean from the field to get here!” he finished.

Regina shook her head in wonder.  “And, you loved me enough to undertake this quest and use True Love’s Kiss to wake me…”

Henry favored her with the same incredulous look he’d given Emma moments before.  “Of course I did!  I do!”

Regina laughed and hugged him again.  “Thank you, my prince.  I love you too.”

A cool _woosh_ of air came through the window, chilling the bedroom.  Everyone’s gaze shifted in time to see the verdant Wicked Witch fly through the opening on a broom.  

“Well, at long last!  It did take you long enough, little price,” she said with a smirk as she landed with flourish.

“The Wicked Witch?!” Henry yelped.

Regina quickly stood and pushed Henry behind her.  Charming stood with sword drawn, stepping in front of Emma and Snow.

“Why yes, though you could call me Auntie,” Zelena said.  “I’m so delighted you’re all here now.  Now, I have no fear that - when I curse you - you’ll _all_ be affected…”

 

End.

 


End file.
